Top Boy Opening Deconstruction

The clip begins with several establishing shots of the urban setting of London. This sets up the action by introducing the genre and placement of the story allowing the audience to familiarise themselves with the surroundings firstly before any character or the plot is introduced.


The opening scene switches between various different places and characters within this setting. A young boy figure in is shadows shown from behind creating enigma and raising questions. The next shot is over his shoulder looking out the window down on a couple by a car. The secretive angle shows that perhaps he's snooping and spying on his neighbours. The high angle of the shot suggests perhaps he is more superior and powerful. Because he is watching an incident that should be kept low-profile, he has knowledge - represented maybe by his school uniform.The fact he doesn't seem to react to the situation shows the type of lives the people in the area have. His silence greatly contrasts with the shouting and swearing of the gangs down below. This could perhaps be a microcosm of the silent Gods looking down watching the world but not doing anything while humans commit sins. Another similar idea looks at the fish in the market. These are being put on ice and cut up. This could suggest that once you're in the net (drugs and gangs scene), the violence can get you into trouble.


Most of the gang involved wear bright hoodies under dark clothes, suggesting perhaps they have a loving personality under their hard exterior. There is only one girl in this group of people, however she is treated as one of the boys (it is noted though that violence towards her is different as she is slapped rather than punched). Once all the gang meet together, the shots are shown as if the audience are part of the gang. This works in conjunction with how we as the audience know things about this group of people no-one else would. The editing throughout the opening scene is handy-cam and is portrayed rather shakily.


The sound throughout the scene is mainly percussion reflecting the hard-hitting content. The beat is repeated throughout but the tempo runs parallel to the pace of the scene, increasing as tension builds.


Daisy